The interstate highway system is relatively fixed in its carrying capacity in terms of the number of lanes and miles of roadway. As more and more traffic utilizes these highways, the probability of accidents is likely to increase. Highway accidents already cause significant injury and death. In recent years, more than 40,000 Americans have died annually and another 5 million others have been injured in car crashes and other related automobile situations.
Many accidents can be avoided if drivers are alerted earlier to potentially dangerous road and weather conditions. Clearly, a system which could provide warning of impending danger or road hazards well before the impending danger or road hazards actually become visible to drivers could spare many lives and serious injury, as well as reduce related property damage.
In addition, hundreds of thousands of hours of time and millions of gallons of fuel are wasted during commuting due to highway congestion. It has been estimated that in large metropolitan areas about 75% of all car trips are commuter related and drivers can spend almost 50% of their commute time stopped in traffic. A disproportionate share of daily commuting time is associated with vehicle accidents. Moreover, during extreme events, such as hurricanes and flooding, timely evacuation is critical. In many instances, too many people attempt to evacuate at the same time on the same highway creating major congestion. If a system were able to automatically adjust traffic volume by redirecting a portion of traffic to feeder or alternative roadways, timesaving and gasoline saving, as well as improved disaster response would result.